Turkish president says 'Terror-Free Türkiye' initiative has brought new momentum to region

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday said the "Terror-Free Türkiye" initiative has already created new momentum in the region.

Speaking at the Turkish parliament on the opening of the new legislative year, Erdoğan said the initiative has strengthened Türkiye's position amid regional turmoil.

"In an environment where our region has turned into a ring of fire, the 'Terror-Free Türkiye' efforts have already had a deterrent effect on Türkiye's adversaries, have further strengthened Türkiye's power, and ushered in a new momentum in our region," he said.

"On matters concerning Türkiye's national interests, politics must be able to reach a full consensus," Erdoğan said, referring to the recent initiative as the "Great Türkiye Consensus."

Erdoğan stressed that the "Terror-Free Türkiye" process is aimed at building this "national consensus."

TÜRKİYE MAINTAINS GROWTH DESPITE REGIONAL WARS, CRISES

Speaking on the Turkish economy, Erdoğan said: "Despite the wars and crises that have erupted one after another in our region, we have managed to keep Türkiye on a path of development and growth."

Türkiye's economy grew 2.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, he said, adding that annualized national income exceeded $1.7 trillion.

The country's exports hit a record $280.3 billion on an annual basis in August, he added.

"Following the agricultural frost and drought last year, our agricultural sector has made a rapid recovery," he said.

Türkiye maintained a strong performance in tourism despite regional conflicts, Erdoğan said, adding that tourism revenues reached $25.7 billion in the first six months of the year.

"We strengthened our national defense industry with new products while also becoming a country that exports defense products to the world," he said.

Erdoğan said Türkiye's defense and aerospace exports increased 16.2% to $6.3 billion in the first eight months of the year.

"We are at a sustainable point in terms of our external balance. We expect the current account deficit to remain at 2.6% of GDP this year," he added.

ONGOING FUND INVESTIGATION

Turning to an ongoing fund investigation in the country, Erdoğan said: "We are also successfully overcoming the issue that has emerged in a certain segment of the funding markets."

"In accordance with the capital market regulations, we are swiftly resolving this matter while upholding fairness and justice and ensuring that no one's rights are infringed upon," he said.

"We will not allow this issue to turn into a threat to our economic security and social peace," Erdoğan added.

Türkiye's banking regulator decided Wednesday to transfer the management of three investment banks and two factoring companies to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund following developments linked to an ongoing fund investigation.

The decisions cover Tera Investment Bank, Destek Investment Bank, Hedef Investment Bank, Destek Finance Factoring and Tera Finance Factoring, according to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

The regulator said its board adopted the measures following assessments of recent developments related to the process publicly known as the "fund investigation."

The three banks account for 0.22% of the banking sector's total assets, while the two factoring companies represent 1.45% of total factoring sector assets, according to the regulator.